I've really appreciated other reports, so thought I would return the favor. This was a 1st time trip for all tense in purpose. I was too small to remember much of anything when I last went in the 80's. Group was my wife and I, DD6, and grandma. Please note that crowd levels weren't bad and the weather was nearly perfect as we missed the rain during our park times.
Arrived at 3:15 on the 10th at MK. Immediately saw the FoF parade. Got our pictures taken in front of the castle, caught A&E FPP in about 10 minutes, and then proceeded to knock out all of Fantasyland (with a brief jump over to the HM). Left at 8:30 as we were exhausted as we were up since 4 am. Longest wait was ETWB at about 12 minutes. We had FPP or less than 10 minute lines for everything else.
Mother's Day was EP. Our TP suggested SOAT first, followed by Figment (yuck), and then Soarin. Had to wait on this one and it took 21 minutes. LWTL (no wait), then TT with FPP. Caught Maelstrom (less than 5-minute wait), and then headed back to the resort at 12. Returned at 4:30 for Nemo, TTWC, and aquarium. Didn't need the FPP. Went to EO, skipped Energy with Ellen, caught Mission: Space (FPP), and then did the golf ball. Toured the countries at a leisurly pace (more sightseeing than anything), got Shrimp and Grits, and then camped out for 30 minutes in-front of Norway for Illimuniations.
Monday - Resort day and Downtown Disney. BTW, stayed at OKW. I was a bit hesitant after reading mixed reports, but it was a truly great 1-bedroom villa. Room was spotless, plenty of room for four, and a terrific pool and slide. Had dinner at Fulton's Crab Shack. Silly expensive but delicious.
Tuesday - AK. Went from 9 to 4 pm and saw everything there was to see. Used FPP on KS. Had others for KRR and Dinosaur but didn't need it for either. Rode KRR twice. Rode Everest at RD and no line.
Wed - Went to MK at 4:30 just when ran let-up. Did all other lands and used FPP on Buzz, Space, and Splash. Got additional FPP for BTMRR. One correction, we did skip the Jungle Cruse and Tom Sawyer Island, but holy smokes, we saw nearly everything else as we already had Fantasyland knocked out. Caught Celebrate the Magic and Wishes. Unfortunately, the MSEP was not running on Wednesday, so we missed it...though we did see the new parade late afternoon.
Thursday - HS. Waited 26 minutes to see Buzz. Only used one FPP all day for Tower of Terror. RNRC was less than 5 minutes and rode that twice. We were there at 9 am and gone by 3 and that included lunch, and a couple of shows...a bit disppointed in Indiana Jones.
Takeaways: Only take buses to MK and drive everywhere else if possible. I won't get into the reasons why as I do not want to offend anyone, but the buses were ridiculous. Good shoes, Mole-skin, and anything to prevent chafing are must-haves. If I didn't know before, I know now that I am out of shape. Touring Plans are amazing. Granted, the parks never got worse than a 6, but many rides had 40 minute plus waits at different parts of the day. Our TP kept us away from them. Truly magical place. Our favorite parks in descending order were MK, EP, AK, and HS.
I carried a backpack and my wife a satchel. Caught one-meal a day at the parks, but managed to bring bottled water, plenty of snacks, 1st Aid Kit, and ponchos (didn't need them). Five days in the parks and our total Magic Band bill was $343...not too bad. We ate a ton of food thanks to bringing some food and going to the grocer down there.
In Closing, we picked a great time to go, but the TP and all the knowledge gained from this site and TP made all the difference. If you want a specific room, be sure to call back three-days in advance to the resort directly. I gave four room requestes and got my fourth one.
Disney is truly magical. Seriously, one of the best vacations we have had, but I am not going to be in majority that goes there annually, if not more. I could see us making this trip in another five-years, but as amazing as it is, I'd like to try Universal for a couple days or a ton of other places on our wishlist.
I want to thank all of you who directly or indirectly made our trip so fantastic.
Arrived at 3:15 on the 10th at MK. Immediately saw the FoF parade. Got our pictures taken in front of the castle, caught A&E FPP in about 10 minutes, and then proceeded to knock out all of Fantasyland (with a brief jump over to the HM). Left at 8:30 as we were exhausted as we were up since 4 am. Longest wait was ETWB at about 12 minutes. We had FPP or less than 10 minute lines for everything else.
Mother's Day was EP. Our TP suggested SOAT first, followed by Figment (yuck), and then Soarin. Had to wait on this one and it took 21 minutes. LWTL (no wait), then TT with FPP. Caught Maelstrom (less than 5-minute wait), and then headed back to the resort at 12. Returned at 4:30 for Nemo, TTWC, and aquarium. Didn't need the FPP. Went to EO, skipped Energy with Ellen, caught Mission: Space (FPP), and then did the golf ball. Toured the countries at a leisurly pace (more sightseeing than anything), got Shrimp and Grits, and then camped out for 30 minutes in-front of Norway for Illimuniations.
Monday - Resort day and Downtown Disney. BTW, stayed at OKW. I was a bit hesitant after reading mixed reports, but it was a truly great 1-bedroom villa. Room was spotless, plenty of room for four, and a terrific pool and slide. Had dinner at Fulton's Crab Shack. Silly expensive but delicious.
Tuesday - AK. Went from 9 to 4 pm and saw everything there was to see. Used FPP on KS. Had others for KRR and Dinosaur but didn't need it for either. Rode KRR twice. Rode Everest at RD and no line.
Wed - Went to MK at 4:30 just when ran let-up. Did all other lands and used FPP on Buzz, Space, and Splash. Got additional FPP for BTMRR. One correction, we did skip the Jungle Cruse and Tom Sawyer Island, but holy smokes, we saw nearly everything else as we already had Fantasyland knocked out. Caught Celebrate the Magic and Wishes. Unfortunately, the MSEP was not running on Wednesday, so we missed it...though we did see the new parade late afternoon.
Thursday - HS. Waited 26 minutes to see Buzz. Only used one FPP all day for Tower of Terror. RNRC was less than 5 minutes and rode that twice. We were there at 9 am and gone by 3 and that included lunch, and a couple of shows...a bit disppointed in Indiana Jones.
Takeaways: Only take buses to MK and drive everywhere else if possible. I won't get into the reasons why as I do not want to offend anyone, but the buses were ridiculous. Good shoes, Mole-skin, and anything to prevent chafing are must-haves. If I didn't know before, I know now that I am out of shape. Touring Plans are amazing. Granted, the parks never got worse than a 6, but many rides had 40 minute plus waits at different parts of the day. Our TP kept us away from them. Truly magical place. Our favorite parks in descending order were MK, EP, AK, and HS.
I carried a backpack and my wife a satchel. Caught one-meal a day at the parks, but managed to bring bottled water, plenty of snacks, 1st Aid Kit, and ponchos (didn't need them). Five days in the parks and our total Magic Band bill was $343...not too bad. We ate a ton of food thanks to bringing some food and going to the grocer down there.
In Closing, we picked a great time to go, but the TP and all the knowledge gained from this site and TP made all the difference. If you want a specific room, be sure to call back three-days in advance to the resort directly. I gave four room requestes and got my fourth one.
Disney is truly magical. Seriously, one of the best vacations we have had, but I am not going to be in majority that goes there annually, if not more. I could see us making this trip in another five-years, but as amazing as it is, I'd like to try Universal for a couple days or a ton of other places on our wishlist.
I want to thank all of you who directly or indirectly made our trip so fantastic.
